Eran Group of Monuments – Inscriptions
Inscription of Sridharavarman
(circa 350 CE):
The Saka (Indo-Scythian)
King Sridharavarman (339 – 368 CE), who ruled in Central India, made an inscription
of a small pillar at Eran,
together with his Naga military commander. Bhanugupta later
also wrote his inscription on the same pillar dated to 510 CE. It seems that
the inscription of Sridharavarman is succeeded chronologically by a monument
and an inscription by Gupta Emperor Samudragupta (336 – 380 CE),
established for the sake of augmenting his fame, who may therefore have ousted
Sridharavarman in his campaigns to the West.
Inscription of Samudragupta:
The
Eran Inscription of Samudragupta (336-380 CE) is presently stored
in Kolkata Indian Museum. The inscription, in red sandstone, was
found not far to the west of the ruined
temple of the boar. Though damaged and much of the inscription is missing,
this was a significant find, because of the presence of numeral scripts, with
at least "2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7" preserved.
Inscription of Budhagupta (484 –
485 CE):
The Budhagupta inscription
is dated to 484 – 485 CE. It records the extent of the Gupta kingdom stretched
from Kalindi River to Narmada River and also mentions the raising of a column
in honour of Janardana, another name of Lord Vishnu. It further
records that the
pillar was installed by a feudatory king Matri Vishnu and his younger
brother Dhanya Vishnu.
Inscription of Toramana (circa
500 CE):
The Eran
boar inscription of Toramana, is a stone inscription found in Eran in
the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is 8 lines of
Sanskrit, the first three of which are in meter and the rest in prose, written
in the Brahmi script. It is carved on the neck of a freestanding 11 feet
(3.4 m) high red sandstone Varaha statue,
a zoomorphic iconography of Vishnu avatar, and dated to the 6th century
CE. The inscription on Varaha
in Eran dates to the reign of Huna King Toramana. It records the construction
of a Vishnu temple by Dhanya Vishnu.
The
inscription was found in 1838 by T.S. Burt, who brought it to the attention of
James Prinsep. It was published in 1838 by Prinsep with a translation. In
1861, Fitz Edward Hall disagreed with Prinsep's report and published a revised
edition of the inscription and a new translation. Fleet published his own
translation and interpretation of the inscription in 1888. The
translations for the inscription vary significantly, though the central theme
is similar.
Inscription of Bhanugupta (510 CE):
The
fourth inscription is badly damaged, but important. The inscription mentions Bhanugupta and
is inscribed on the reverse of the Sridharavarman pillar. It also mentions the
death of chieftain Goparaja in a battle in 510 CE. It also mentions the
cremation of Goparaja and his wife committing Sati on the funeral pyre of her
husband.
Nrivaraha Inscription:
An
image of Nrivaraha was found by Cunningham in possession of a local brahmin
priest in Eran during his visit. The brahmin priest told Cunningham that the
image was brought from the location of the Budhagupta
pillar. It is currently housed in Hari Singh Gour Archaeological Museum. It has a short inscription near pedestal reads two names Mahesvara
Datta and Varaha Datta, probably the brothers who installed this idol. The
inscription can be dated to 5th century based on paleographic
studies.
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